Along the way to approving the Bush administration's detainee legislation today, the Senate has rejected Arlen Specter's amendment that would have preserved the right of noncitizen detainees to file writs of habeas corpus in federal court. The vote was 51-48, with Republicans Lincoln Chafee, Gordon Smith and John Sununu joing Specter in voting for the amendment and Democrat Ben Nelson voting against it. Republican Olympia Snowe did not vote.
So much for the Great Writ
By a vote of 51-48, the Senate rejects an amendment that would have preserved habeas corpus rights for noncitizen detainees.
By Tim Grieve
Published September 28, 2006 7:05PM (EDT)
By Tim Grieve
Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.
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